Tapiwa Makore’s killers escape hangman’s noose after death sentences scrapped
By Caleb Chikwawawa
Tapiwa Makore’s killers will not be hanged anymore after Harare Supreme Court judges have altered their death sentences to life imprisonment following the convicts’ appeal.
Tafadzwa Shamba and Tapiwa Makore were in 2023 sentenced to death by the High Court for murdering seven-year-old Tapiwa Makore (Junior) for ritual purposes in Murewa 2020.
Under Zimbabwean laws, the passing of a death sentence against a convict activates an automatic appeal at the Supreme Court.
Following a review of the sentence by the apex court, the National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe (NPAZ) said Wednesday, the two “had their death sentences substituted by the Supreme Court on the 12th of May 2025 with life imprisonment for both offenders.”
The slain minor, Tapiwa Makore (Junior), shared the same name with his convicted uncle.
The crime came to light when the boy went missing on the afternoon of 17 September 2020, prompting an search around the area by other villagers with no success.
His body, or what remained of it, with the head, both hands, and both legs cleanly severed, was discovered at a villager’s premises, being dragged by dogs.
The state of the body left indicated that the boy had been killed for ritual purposes.
Subsequently, several of his missing limbs were found in various locations, including a disused village pit latrine.
“Following their conviction for murder in 2023, Shamba and Makore had an automatic right of appeal to the Supreme Court,” said NPAZ.
“Before the appeal could be heard, the death penalty was abolished in Zimbabwe hence the Supreme Court could not confirm the sentence handed down by the High Court.”
